Honda is betting that buyers at the budget end of the market are willing to pay $2500 extra for a hybrid drivetrain.

The premium over the former range-topping Jazz will take roughly five years to recoup, based on current petrol prices.

And there?s not a lot of tinsel on offer for a top-of-the-range model - the Jazz is not available with a touch-screen, reversing camera, satellite navigation or the internet-based audio streaming features now available in top-end versions of the Holden Barina and Toyota Yaris models.

In its favour, it does have alloy wheels and blue-tinted chrome garnishes that distinguish it from regular models in the Jazz range, and the car is $1000 cheaper than its main rival, Toyota?s Prius C, which had until now been the cheapest hybrid on sale.

The car runs a lest sophisticated - and fuel-efficient - engine than the Prius.

Its Integrated Motor Assist system is mated to a 1.3-Litre, four-cylinder petrol engine that drives the front wheels through a continuously variable transmission.

The petrol-powered, single cam engine makes 65kW and 121Nm, which is augmented to the tune of 10kW and 78Nm by the electric motor.

It is ??hybrid-lite?? technology that vary rarely operates without the engine. You won?t see the Jazz Hybrid silently prowling shopping centre carparks the way that other hybrid cars can.

The Jazz Hybrid won?t move away from a stop without burning petrol, and only shuts off the four-cylinder engine momentarily while stopped.

It?s a relatively old system borrowed from the Honda Insight, but it does give the Jazz fuel figues worth boasting about. It officially uses 4.5L/100km, but careful drivers can easily improve on that. Our first stint behind the wheel returned 4.7L/100km, before a more careful run without air conditioning saw fuel use drop to 3.7L/100km.

The hybrid weighs 70kg more than the regular Jazz, and most of that weight is over the rear axle. The battery system has robbed the boot of 110 litres in storage space, and Honda's "magic seats" no longer fold flat.

To compensate for the hybrid's weight, Honda has beefed up the suspension somewhat, with heavier springs and a thicker torsion beam to help the Jazz Hybrid retain the regular car?s balance.

Keen drivers might be frustrated by the tiny grip levels offered by its low rolling resistance Michelin tyres, but this isn?t a car made for carving corners.

It?s simply a city runabout that goes the extra mile to help drivers conserve fuel, and gives city car buyers a hybrid option more affordable than ever before.

Fast facts

What is it?

Australia?s cheapest hybrid car.

What?s new?

The 1.3 litre, four-cylinder petrol-electric motor from the Honda Insight has been transplanted into the Japanese brand?s Thai-built city car. Minor styling cues (and a few thousand dollars) separate it from the rest of the Honda range.

What?s missing?

Class-leading economy. At 4.5L/100km, the Jazz Hybrid uses 32 per cent less fuel than its petrol equivalent, but it doesn?t match the 3.9L/100km fuel figure of Toyota?s Prius C.

Drive Comments

0 Comments

Facebook Comments

Share

Width

Profile

Rim

The size of your tyre is located on the sidewall of your tyre.It will be similar to the sample below.